Since the moment that he stepped onto the practice field this offseason, true freshman slot cornerback Graceson Littleton has been a dominant force. Not only is he a standout special teamer for the Longhorns, but he's been a legitimate playmaker on defense for DC Pete Kwiatkowski over the past two weeks as the starting "star" in 2025.
Through the first two games of the season, he's totaled 4 tackles, and has been credited with 1 pass deflection. I don't believe that this information is correct though because he had at least two against Ohio State in week 1 alone.
Whatever the case, Littleton's impact is being felt by every single slot receiver that he lines up against due to his ability to "stick" on his target with excellent anticipation skills and footspeed at the route stem. He also has top-notch closing speed that helps him recover when receivers are actually able to get decent separation.
Texas True Freshman DB Graceson Littleton leads all of the Power-Four in Targets Covered (19)
— ᴄᴏᴅʏ ᴄᴀʀᴘᴇɴᴛɪᴇʀ (@CodyCarpentier) September 8, 2025
*leads P4 by 3!! Targets (Hezekiah Masses, CAL)
*leads the SEC by 7!! Targets (Delane, LSU/Kite, Miss)
Littleton has allowed a 73.4 passer rating (16th among DBs targeted 10+ times) pic.twitter.com/133Q5pi8BZ
As you can see above, opposing offenses continue to target the true freshman in hopes of gaining "easy" chunks of yards but this hasn't been the case. He's been consistently shutting down opposing receivers throughout the first two weeks of the season, with his most impressive outing being against Ohio State. Littleton was making life hard for Jeremiah Smith and Brandon Inniss whenever they decided to lineup inside.
He's undoubtedly gaining more and more recognition each week, as announcers have started to comment on him always being around the ball. Phrases like "There's Littleton again" and "Graceson Littleton in coverage there" have been used more frequently on national broadcasts, and he's undoubtedly begun to pick up steam as one of the top overall freshman in college football right now.
Texas is no stranger to having top-notch true freshman contributors, as Colin Simmons was also one of the top overall defensive players in the nation as a freshman in 2024.
Hopefully, Littleton will be able to sustain his current success against the Longhorns' SEC gauntlet in 2025, beginning with Florida on October 4th. If he does, he'll undoubtedly garner multiple All-Conference and All-American honors at the end of the year.